


Brooklyn or Manhattan?

by lexabug52



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Angst, Brother-Sister Relationships, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Homelessness, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-08-08 00:23:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16418885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lexabug52/pseuds/lexabug52
Summary: Alicia-Marie (Alice) Cooper had a decent life growing up in Queens, until her parents passed away and she was left in the care of her abusive brother Miller. Sick of his abuses, Alice ran away to Brooklyn, where she met Spot Conlon and eventually became the first girl to be accepted in the ranks of the toughest newsies in New York. When word of the Manhattan strike reached Brooklyn, Alice knew they had to help. It took some convincing, but Spot and the boys eventually agreed. However, upon meeting a certain Manhattan newsie named Race, Alice had no idea just how much he would change her life. Now, she has a choice to make. Brooklyn or Manhattan?





	1. Cooper and Conlon

Being a female newsie was something that was pretty uncommon. 95% of the time, you would be buying your paper from a young news boy, seeing as women working was frowned upon back in 1899. However, if times got hard enough, or a family didn’t have a boy to send out selling paper, a girl could be seen on the streets working. Each group of newsies usually had one or two girls they would see regularly. Every group that is, except Brooklyn. Brooklyn had a strict policy against girls joining them. They had a reputation to uphold and bringing a girl in would just ruin everything. That was, until Alicia-Marie Cooper came into the life of none other than Spot Conlon, the tough leader of the Brooklyn newsies. When he found her, it was early morning, and he was out selling the morning paper. Alice had been sleeping in an alley when he stumbled across her. Well, more like tripped over her. “Hey! Watch it!” Alice shrieked, sitting up from her makeshift bed on the ground. “Well hows about you watch where you is layin next time?” Spot retaliated, not backing down because it was a girl he was dealing with. Alice stood, going eye to eye with Spot as best she could, since he was taller. “Nobody had a problem with it but you. Maybe you is the one in the wrong here.” The girl sassed, eliciting a chuckle out of Spot. He hadn’t met a girl with that much fire in her before. “You got spunk kid. I can respects that. Name’s Spot Conlon.” The boy said, sticking out his hand. Alice proudly shook it, enjoying the sense of victory. “Alicia-Marie Cooper. I go by Alice. Call me Alicia-Marie and I’ll hit you so hard you ends up in Manhattan, got it?” The two became an unlikely pair of friends, despite their differences. Spot came and found Alice every morning, even waking her up on some of the days she wanted to sleep in. She didn’t appreciate Spot very much those days. They’d hang out all day while he sold his papers, leaving with the promise of seeing eachother again the very next day. Almost every day, Alice asked Spot why she couldn’t be a Newsie. She was homeless, and needed some money. Everyday Spot would give her the same answer. Brooklyn didn’t take girl newsies. Girls just weren’t tough enough to be one of them. Naturally, Alice never accepted this answer and continued to bother him about it. A morning like every other, Spot collected his papers and headed to Alice’s alley. For the first time in almost two months, she wasn’t there. It wasn’t like her to not be around, so the lack of her presence immediately set Spot on high alert. “Alice!” He called, trying not to panic. No response from the girl. “Alice!!” He called again, louder this time. She was bound to hear him. She had to be around here somewhere. Spot tore into the alley, looking around everything, behind every garbage can, under every old newspaper for some sign of his friend. There wasn’t so much as a trace of her. He went running into the back alley that connected all the other alleys, calling for Alice. Finally, he heard her voice. She was yelling, and it sounded like she wasn’t alone. He didn’t want to put her in danger, so he crept into the alley slowly. Sure enough, there she was. She was on the ground, a man looming over her. Spot got ready to run in and save her, but they locked eyes, and he could tell by the look she was giving him that she knew what she was doing. “You know you can’t disobey me, Alicia-Marie!” The man yelled at her, delivering another kick into her side. It was clear that she and this guy had some history. Alice barely winced at the kick, scoffing instead. “I’s never obeyed you a day in my life, Miller. Even when mom and dad was alive.” She mumbled, standing so she was face to face with the man who Spot now knew was named Miller. Miller rolled his eyes “Would you stop talking like a street rat from Brooklyn? You’re from Queens, and you’re coming back with me. Right now.” He snapped, grabbing her wrist. That was it. Alice had enough. She lashed out, kicking Miller in the groin and punching him in the face. He hit the ground with a thud, and that was when Spot realized Alice had knocked out a fully grown man with one punch. “Let’s get out of here.” Alice grumbled, slouching past Spot, as if it was common for her to knock out men almost a whole foot taller than her with only one blow. Maybe she was tougher than he had originally thought. She was already the toughest girl Spot knew, but he was starting to think that maybe she was tougher than some guys too.  
“Alice! Hold up!” Spot called, chasing after her. “Who was that guy? You knows him.” He stated, curious. His curiosity elicited a sigh from Alice, and when they reached her makeshift bed in the alley, she sat down and motioned for him to do the same. “That was Miller Cooper, my older brother. He and I never got along growing up. Mom and dad liked me more, and he was bitter. Parents died a few years ago, and Miller became responsible for me. He was not a good guardian. Took out all’s his anger and frustration on me. I had’s enough, ran away to Brooklyn. You found me not long after.” She said softly, shrugging. Spot was shocked. He had no idea what she had gone through to put her on the streets. She was hell of a lot tougher than he initially thought. “I’s taking you to see the boys. They’s all my brothers, and I know they’d love a sister. You’s a newsie now, Alicia-Marie.” He said with a grin on his face, running into the street with Alice chasing after him, yelling at him for using her full name.


	2. It Ain't So Easy

Upon arrival at the Brooklyn Newsboys lodge, it was clear that getting Alice into the newsies would be more difficult than initially thought. Spot introduced her to the boys, many of who immediately began trying to flirt with Alice. “She’s one of us now.” Spot said, causing confusion to spread on every other boy’s face. “Spot we needs to speak to you. Without the girl.” A boy named Murphy said, and all the boys headed into another room. “Boss, what is you thinkin, makin a girl one of us?” Murphy asked Spot once they were out of Alice’s earshot. “Yeah Spot, you’s the one that said we wasn’t allowed to accept girls because they ain’t tough enough.” Robin reminded his leader. Spot sighed, rubbing his face in an attempt to give himself some patience. “Fellas! I know what I said, okay? But she’s tough.” He looked around at the boys, and it was clear by the looks on their faces that they weren’t convinced that they should allow a girl on board. He knew he’d have to pull out the big guns to get the guys to agree to her joining. “Alright, let me ask yous boys this: How many of you have knocked out a guy?” He asked, and as expected, most guys put their hands in the air. “Okay, that’s what I thought. Now, how many of you have knocked out a fully grown man?” He raised an eyebrow as some hands stayed down, and some stayed up. A few comments were thrown around among the guys as they teased eachother. “Alright!” Spot quieted them down. “So, how many of you have knocked out a fully grown man with only one punch?” He asked with a smirk, looking around at the boys, seeing that none of them had a hand up. “That’s right. Well, Alice has. She just done it, I watched her. She’s been homeless for months and never let anyone near her but me. She’s tough, boys.” Mumbling broke out all over the group as the boys argued among themselves about whether or not they should let Alice in. “Let’s put it to a vote.” Robin spoke up again, and everyone agreed. It seemed like the best way to make a decision without everyone fighting among themselves. “So who votes to not accept Alice into the newsies?” A few hands were hesitantly raised. The group didn’t like to go against Spot, but they would if they thought he was being ridiculous. “Okay, and who votes she’s one of us?” The rest of the hands shot into the air. It was well over half of the boys. At the sight, Spot couldn’t help the massive grin that spread on his face.   
At first, the boys had a tough time adjusting to having a girl in the lodge. They all felt like they had to wear shirts at all times, and weren’t quite as rowdy as they always were. The only person acting like everything was normal was Spot. He had no issue walking around the lodge with no shirt on, or being as loud as he usually was. It wasn’t just the fellas in the lodge that had found it hard to get used to a girl newsie. The first day Alice finally donned the iconic red clothes of the Brooklyn Newsies and headed onto the streets, people didn’t trust her. They were so used to buying their papes from a boy, that seeing a girl on the streets shocked them. Luckily, Spot had bought her first round of papes for her, since she had no money, and he managed to sell them all. That night, Alice went home more than frustrated. She flopped herself onto Spot’s bed, groaning. Being the King of Brooklyn, Spot was the only newsie with his own room. Nobody was allowed in, but that all changed when Alice came along. The boy chuckled at Alice and put the book down that he had been reading. “Why did I think I could be a Newsie? Yous make it look so easy..” Alice whined, burying her face into Spot’s pillow. She felt so down and discouraged. “It’ll get better, Alice. Brooklyn heads is tough to crack. They just ain’t used to seein a pretty girl haulin papes. They’ll warm up to yous. I promise.” Spot said tenderly, pulling her head into his lap and playing with her hair. He couldn’t help but see her as a little sister that he had to protect and care for. He knew she could handle herself, but that didn’t change anything.  
As it turns out, Spot had been right. Slowly but surely, Alice started to gain customers. Even some regulars. It all turned around when she used the advice Spot had given her after her first day. They weren’t used to seeing a pretty girl. Pretty girl. She made her to use it to her advantage. Batting her eyelashes at customers, even flirting with some of the younger guys. “Thank ya, handsome.” She cooed as she made a sale, making sure to add a giggle at the end. As her customer walked away, she heard a snort from down the street. Smalls, one of the newsies. “Handsome, huh? That ain’t like yous at all, Cooper. The nicest thing I’s heard you say is when you told Dave that you might spare his life next time he flirted with you.” The boy said with a laugh. Alice just shrugged “The fellas like the attention. And it gets my papes sold. Buzz off, I got two more and my regulars won’t like seein me wit a guy that ain’t Spot.” She shooed Smalls away, punching his arm in a sisterly way. She was finally starting to fit in with the other newsies. The breaking point had been when she slugged Archie in the arm for making a crude joke. That was when the boys began to realize they could roughhouse with her, and tease her just like she was one of them.   
“I’ll take a paper, Miss.” A familiar voice spoke from behind Alice, causing her blood to freeze. She took a breath and turned around to face the voice that had spoken. “Hello, little sister.” Miller spat at her. “I ain’t ya sister. Buzz off unless ya buyin.” She scowled, not daring to take her eyes off Miller. “How many times have I told you to stop talking like a brat? Let’s go, you’re coming home.” The older male scowled. Alice let out a low chuckle, looking at the fading bruise on his face from last time he had tried to force her back to Queens. “Right because that turned out so well for you last time?” She asked with a laugh, a smile on her face that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Miller didn’t seem even phased by her statement. “I figured you might say that,” He started, seeming way too confident. “Fellas!” He called, and Alice watched in terror as a dozen tough looking men walked out from the shadows. “Bring her home. Hurt her all you want, just make sure she’s alive.” Miller commanded, watching as the men closed on the girl. She put up a fight, but it wasn’t enough. They easily overtook her, getting in a few hits just for fun. Alice fell to the ground, crying as they hit her over and over. Her bones ached, and she felt the warm sensation of blood flowing out of various cuts on her face. Her ribs felt broken, and her ankle was sprained at the very least. As she was on the edge of blacking out, she made the effort to let out one loud, ear piercing scream. It was late, most of the newsies were done selling by now. Alice gave up hope, and just as she was giving in to the luring pull of unconsciousness, she heard someone yell something in the distance. All she saw was an army of work boots and mismatched socks charging toward her attackers as she blacked out.


	3. We Gots to Help

“Get ya papes here!” Spot called, trying to get his last paper sold so he could head home. It had been a long day, papers weren’t selling quickly. As the afternoon turned to evening and minutes turned to hours, he spotted a few newsies heading home for the day, and gave them a brotherly wave as they passed by. Smalls stopped to talk to him, and that was when they heard a scream. All the newsies on the street froze, and others came running over from out of sight. “Boss…” Robin started, but Spot already knew what he was gonna say. “Alice is in trouble. I never should have let her sell out of my sight.” He scolded himself, but quickly realized he had to get over it for now. “Newsies!” He yelled, and every newsie gathered around, looking to Spot. “Our sister is in trouble. We gots to help her.” He said quickly, knowing they needed to act fast. Without waiting for a response, Spot started running to where Alice had been selling. He didn’t even have to look to know the boys were behind him. They had accepted Alice as one of their own, and newises had each others backs. When they finally found Alice, the sight caused the boys’ blood to boil. At least eight guys were standing around Alice, beating the crap out of her, and standing to the side was the scumbag that Spot recognized to be Alice’s biological older brother, Miller. Spot didn’t even have to tell the newsies what to do. Brooklyn boys knew how to fight and protect their own. In an instant the boys were on the thugs who were hurting Alice. Spot watched as the boys fought, and he knew they had it under control. So, he turned to Miller, who was trying to make his escape. In an instant, Spot had caught up with the man. “Yous is scum, Miller. A girl way younger than you can knock you out with one punch, so yous hire fellas to hurt her? You was supposed to be her brother. Protect her and provide for her. Instead all yous did is hurt her and make her feel like she was less than worthless.” Spot growled, advancing on Miller, who didn’t look so intimidating anymore. The man opened his mouth to speak, but Spot cut him off, and Miller had the good sense not to interrupt him. “Lucky for you, Miller, she found us. She has brothers now, younger and older, who are willing to fight for her.” He said proudly, motioning to the fight behind him. He didn’t even have to look to know his boys were winning. “She’s not your family anymore. She’s ours, and you messed with the wrong family.” He finished and with that, punched Miller right in the face. He didn’t knock him out like Alice had the other day, but the older male got the message. He called off his goons and they all limped away. Usually, a victory would be cause for the newsies to cheer, but they didn’t feel up to it when they saw Alice. They knew Spot was the most protective of her, so they parted ways to let him get to her. When he saw the state she was in, he felt his heart break a million times over. Gently, he lifted her into his arms like she was a bride, cradling her close. “Murph. You and Smalls stay here and sell her papes. I won’t have her eating them because Miller Cooper is a piece of shit.” He muttered, and the two boys nodded, willing to do anything to help Alice. As the rest of the newsies walked back to the lodge, there was a feeling of dread among them. They knew Alice was alive, but they didn’t know the state she was in. 

Finally, they arrived back at the lodge. “Go about your business, boys. If I need one of yous I’ll yell.” Spot muttered somberly. The boys agreed and slouched off to their beds to await news. There would be no goofing around tonight, they were all too worried about her. Spot carried her up to his private bathroom and quickly prepared a bath for her to wash off the blood and dirt, as well as soothe her muscles that must have been aching. Slowly he undressed her, not caring that she was a girl. He was simply doing what he would do for any of the other guys. With a gentleness that many wouldn’t believe Spot possessed, he lifted her and placed her into the hot water. He grabbed a washcloth and slowly began to scrub the blood off her body. How could someone be so cruel to someone so precious, he wondered. He had no idea how family could turn on eachother like that, act like they weren’t even related or that they didn’t care about each other. He would do anything for any of the newsies, because they were his family. As he looked over Alice’s broken body, he had to fight away a few tears. Eventually, he began to wash her hair, and as he did so, she let out a small groan and her bright blue eyes opened slightly. Spot couldn’t help the relief that flowed through his body when he saw that she was awake. “Hey princess, how you feelin?” He asked softly, stroking her hair. It was obvious in her eyes that she was in pain. “Like I was stomped on by eight big tough men.” She joked, trying to put on a smile for Spot’s sake. She was tough, she wouldn’t let something like this get her down. Spot smiled sadly, looking at the brave girl in front of him. She was bruised, and broken in many places, but she was far from defeated.

The bath was soon over, Alice was as clean as Spot could get her. “I can stand myself..” Alice weakly protested. “I’ll get your clothes all wet.” She muttered, and Spot shook his head as he carried her over to his room. “Yous crazy, Alice. Your ankle is totally busted up. Yous not walking on your own for at least a week.” He ordered as he sat her on the bed, looking in his drawers for some clothes for the girl. “A week?!” Alice yelped in surprise “No way Spot. I needs to be out sellin tomorrow. I won’t make rent if I don’t sell every day!” She panicked, eyes wide. Spot just shook his head, pulling out one of his warmer shirts and some pants for Alice to borrow. “The fellas will each take some more papes than they usually do, and that money will be yours. We done it for Smalls when he busted his knee. Yous one of us now Alice. You know that. We got each others backs here.” Spot argued right back, walking over to the bed with the clothes he had picked for her. She had been borrowing some of the smaller guys’ shirts for when she was selling, but Spot knew she’d find comfort in sitting in some of his clothes for the night. Alice wanted to argue against the newsies taking more papers just to support her, but she could tell by the look on Spot’s face that he wasn’t going to be changing his mind. Gently, Spot helped Alice into the clothes. He could immediately tell that being in his clothes helped her emotionally. She may be the toughest girl he knows, but she was still vulnerable and sweet and needed to be protected. Like hell if he wasn’t going to be the one to do that. “I’m gonna go get yous some food, okay?” He told her softly, and frowned as he watched her shake her head. “I don’t feel much like eating, Spot. I just wants to lay in my bed and be sad.” She muttered, looking down at her legs. Spot took a seat on the bed next to her and sighed. “First of all, yous gonna be sleeping in here with me until yous is better. Second of all, I know yous upset, but you gotta try and eat even just a little bit. It will be good for you.” He said softly, looking over at Alice, who nodded. “Fine, I’ll try to eat somethin.” She agreed, causing a grin to form on Spot’s face. “I’ll be right back.” And with that, he headed down to the deli a few doors down to get something small for the two of them to eat. 

True to his word, later that night, Spot and Alice would be sharing a room. It was, however, a little more awkward at first than the pair had anticipated. Alice was fully content sleeping in Spot’s shirt. Spot, however, preferred to sleep shirtless. When Spot returned from the washroom, he found Alice sitting on the floor. “What are you doing down there?” He asked, confused as to why Alice would be on the floor. “I’m sleeping down here, Spot.” Alice replied slowly, as if she were explaining something to a small child. “Why in hell would you sleep on the floor, Alice? I’m takin the floor.” Spot argued. No way he was gonna let a lady sleep on the floor while he slept in his bed. In response, Alice simply rolled her eyes. “It’s your bed, Spot. I don’t expect you to give it up.” She retaliated. Both of them were too stubborn for their own good, causing the argument to go on a lot longer than it should have. Eventually, they came to the agreement that they were to share the bed. This, however, created some new issues, and caused the two to be awkward around each other for the first time ever. After a few awkward moments, the two got comfortable enough for them to both be under the covers. By the fourth night that Alice was staying with Spot, they were beyond comfortable sharing a bed, and it was just like everything else in their friendship. “Move over, Spot! You’re hogging the bed.” Alice whined one morning, shoving Spot over a few inches. This was the normal now. Arguing over the bed. “I ain’t hogging nothing!” Spot argued, and without a second thought, shoving Alice back. He regretted this fairly quickly however, when he heard Alice gasp in pain. Healing was a slow process, and her ribs were still bruised. “Shit...Alice I forgot..” Spot muttered, wrapping an arm around his sister and gently pulling her close. He knew Alice would never admit she was in pain. That wasn’t like her. 

Slowly but surely, Alice was recovering from her injuries. She was stubborn and resilient, but it still took her awhile to get back on her feet. Three weeks after the incident, she wasn’t back to selling yet, but she was able to walk around mostly without any pain in her ankle. She and a few of the boys were sat on the steps of the lodge when three boys dressed in blue walked up. Alice had no idea who they were, but clearly the other boys did. “That’s Jack Kelly…” Smudge whispered to Robin, who punched Murphy in the shoulder to stand up, he was Spot’s right hand man after all. This particular day, Alice had her hair tucked into a hat, so it wasn’t overly obvious that she was a girl unless you previously knew. Everyone that was on the steps followed suit with Murphy, walking down to meet the three boys who Alice quickly learned were newsies from Manhattan. “What is you doing on Spot’s turf, Kelly?” Murphy asked, staring down the three boys, one of which was much younger than the other two. “I’m here to talk to Spot and you boys. Where is he?” Jack asked, not backing down. “Inside. Smudge, go get him.” Murphy commanded, and smudge went running in to get Spot. 

Quickly, Spot was outside. “Manhattan boys eh?” He asked, and everyone watched as the King of Brooklyn and the King of Manhattan went toe to toe. “We need your help, Spot. Pulitzer raised the price of papes to 60 cents per hundred. We don’t like that, and you know how long a newsie can last on a dime. We is striking, and we needs the support of every newsie in New York if we’re going to pull this off.” Jack informed Spot. Alice watched Spot’s face carefully as he considered it. “I’m gonna have to talk to my boys. Boys! In the lodge. You three, wait here.” He decreed, and the sea of red shirts filed into the lodge. Almost as soon as the doors shut, arguments broke out everywhere amongst the group. Newsie talking over newsie, fighting to have their opinion heard. However, all it took was one look from Spot and they all quieted down. There was a lot of yelling among the boys, but the general agreement was that they shouldn’t help. That was when Alice spoke up. “They’re just like us, Spot. Did you see that little boy? They needs help! You took me in when I needed help, so why shouldn’t we help them?” She stated, every boy now staring at her. The yelling quickly started back up again, this time Alice was yelling right along with them. The conversation ended with everyone heading back outside to give Manhattan the news.   
“So here’s the deal, Kelly. You gotta prove you ain’t weak, that we ain’t supporting a group that’s gonna fold at the first sign of trouble. You prove yourselves, and we might come help.” Spot stated. There was a long pause from Jack, and he turned to the boy that looked about his age. “What do we do, Davey?” He asked in a softer tone. The boy everyone now knew to be Davey shrugged “We have to take what we can get, Jack.” He answered. With that, there was the classic spit shake between the two kings, and the Manhattan boys in blue headed home. As the crowd of Newsies dispersed, Alice stood there glaring at Spot, arms crossed in front of her chest. “What?” The boy protested. He was the King of Brooklyn, he didn’t like how Alice made him feel like he had to defend himself. “We should be helping them!” She sighed, knowing Spot was too stubborn to listen to her. “We have a reputation to uphold!” He argued, and Alice simply shook her head at him. “That’s what you said about letting a girl be one of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! I promise this is a Race fic, he will come in eventually! Now, there's a part of the story I want you guys to control. Alice's nickname with the newsies! You guys get to pick. Comment your ideas and I'll pick the best one!


	4. Stripe

That night, Alice wasn’t too pleased with Spot, and she wasn’t shy about showing it either. She all but pretended he didn’t exist while they ate dinner together. Finally, as they were getting ready for bed, Spot had enough of it.   
“C’mon, Alice.” He sighed as she pulled on one of his shirts behind the dressing screen Spot had stolen a few days ago to give Alice some more privacy. When Alice said nothing, he decided it was in his best interest if he kept talking.   
“You know I got’s to make tough choices. I has all these kids to look after. I couldn’t put them in danger like that without knowing that ‘Hattan was going to be able to hold their own. I know my boys is tough, but I don’t know about his. I was just looking out for everyone.” He defended himself, hoping Alice would forgive him, or at least talk to him. She was his best friend, he couldn’t stand to have her ignoring him.   
Finally, Alice emerged from behind the dressing screen, taking a look over at Spot. “Those boys needed our help…” She muttered quietly. It wasn’t her forgiving him, but it was a start. He sighed and walked over to her, luckily she didn’t back away. She was clearly starting to see his side of things, but she was still upset with him.   
“I know it could be dangerous, Spotty, but either way, ‘Hattan is facing that danger. Shouldn’t we be behind them when they do? Newsies is supposed to be family, I didn’t think borough mattered.” She grumbled, not looking at Spot. The boy just sighed and pulled his sister in for a hug. They both knew Spot couldn’t go back on what he said to Manhattan, but Alice hoped he would pull through next time they needed Brooklyn’s help.   
With that, the two crawled into bed, now used to sharing with each other. Immediately, Alice snuggled in close and Spot wrapped his arm around her. It was normally a position a couple would sleep in, but Alice and Spot couldn’t be further from romantically attracted to one another. 

 

The next morning, as the morning bell rang, the newsies of Brooklyn could already tell it was going to be a boiling hot day selling papers. They could be heard all throughout the lodging house complaining about the heat. Alice unstuck herself from Spot, hitting him in the chest for good measure to make sure he was awake.   
“Oof.” He gasped, groaning. “Do you gotta hit me every morning?” Spot protested, sitting up in bed as Alice grabbed a clean-ish red shirt and some pants and headed behind her dressing screen. “The fellas insist!” She replied with a giggle “Ever since that morning yous overslept. Besides, it’s my first day back, we can’t have you missing it!” She teased, and the boy groaned, knowing he’d never forget that.   
As the newsies filed out of the lodging house and into the sun, the complaining about the heat intensified. It was still fairly early in the morning, but it was sweltering out and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Begrudgingly, the newsies slumped down to the Brooklyn distribution centre. Upon arrival, they sat around waiting for the headline and for their seller, Mr Idle to arrive.   
Alice found a nice seat in some shade and plopped down, looking around at all the fellas talking and trying to stay cool. “Hey Cooper.” Alice heard, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked up to discover that it was Murphy and a few other of the fellas. “Hey Murph.” She said and stood. “What do you boys want?” She asked slowly, raising an eyebrow. “We’s figured out your nickname. Every newsie gets one.” Murphy answered proudly, and Alice simply laughed. “Murph, Alice IS my nickname, remember? My name is Alicia-Marie.” She reminded the boy, who shook his head. “If someone asked your name, you would say Alice. Ya name is Alice, so you needs a nickname. The fellas and I finally figured it out.” He said smugly, and Alice took note of the other boys grinning as well. “Alright, so let’s hear it.” She said curiously, happy she was getting a nickname. It felt like the final step to becoming one of them.   
Murphy smiled, looking around at the other boys before announcing “Stripe.” In the proudest voice it seemed he could muster. “You and Spotty are always together, so we’s figured we should give you a nickname to go with his. Spot and Stripe.” He said with a grin. Alice thought about it for a moment, but then grinned right back at Murphy. “I love it. Stripe it is.” She said with a smile.   
Just then, Idle arrived and it was time to get to work. Since it was her first day back after the attack, Spot insisted Stripe sell where he could see her, and he discovered he didn’t very much like her way of selling. He watched as she took her hair down from being tucked in her cap, and began to sell. Boys fell easily into her trap as she flirted into making sale after sale. Stripe giggled as she talked to one of her regulars, who said he missed her. The man hung around for longer than usual, and Stripe kept trying to get rid of him. Spot was ready to jump in at any moment. Suddenly, Stripe felt the mans arm snake around her waist. That was the breaking point for Spot, but was he was rushing over, he watched as Stripe landed a punch square on the man’s nose. Needless to say, he backed off and ran away with a very bloody nose.   
“You forget I can hold my own, Spotty.” She called over to the king of Brooklyn, grinning like she didn’t just break a man’s nose. “You’s right, Alice. I just worry, you know that.” He responded, walking back to his original selling spot. “I know you worry, you’s is such a big brother.” She called back, smiling, “Oh, and it ain’t Alice anymore. The boys decided my nickname is Stripe now.” She informed the boy, who nodded. Newsies were used to adjusting to nicknames, every kid that lived in the lodge with them had one, especially those who had a troubled past. It helped them create a new identity and to have hope in their new life. 

 

The day dragged on, but slowly every newsie sold their papers, managing to stay alive in the heat of the summer’s day. Eventually, everyone found themselves back in the common room at the lodging house. Complaints of customers and the days heat floated around everyone, until Spot finally stood up, effectively silencing the whole group. “Alright! I’ve heard enough gripin’ from you boys and I’m sick of it. So, hows about we have a river day?” He asked the boys, who erupted into cheers and excited talking.   
“Spotty, what’s a river day?” Stripe asked the boy, who smiled. “We spend our day in the East River to cool off. The boys love it, and it’s one of the things we is known for in the other groups, they say we is always in the river.” He answered proudly, and with that, all the newsies headed down to the docks to have a day in the river.   
Upon arrival, most boys took off their shoes and hopped right in. Some waited a bit, and Stripe caught sight of Robin asking about how cold it was. Once again, she untucked the hair from her cap, a sight many of the boys weren’t used to seeing and stopped to stare. Not noticing, she took off her shoes and jumped into the water, landing beside Spot who had jumped in seconds earlier. Everyone was laughing, splashing and swimming around. It was a pure moment, and Stripe decided she absolutely never wanted to leave this family. 

Hours later, the newsies were all soaked, and all getting ready for bed. Stripe was sunburnt, but she didn’t let that affect her mood as she climbed into bed with Spot. She decided nothing could ruin this day for her. Apparently her brain had other plans.   
Running. She was running, she didn’t even have to turn to know exactly what she was running from. Miller and his goons, it was always Miller and his goons. She turned to run into an alley, and there she found Spot waiting for her. He slowly approached, and she ran to him looking for safety. Next thing she knew, she felt an awful pain in her stomach, and she fell to the ground. When she found the courage to look down, she found Spot had stabbed her.   
“Even Spot knows you’re worthless, Alicia-Marie. Nobody wants you around,” The voice of Miller Cooper echoed all around her, as if the bricks themselves had been possessed by her biological brother. “You’re vermin, God’s only mistake.” The voice continued, taunting Stripe as Spot pulled the knife out of her stomach, causing her to scream out in pain, writhing on the ground with her hands over her ears, screaming and sobbing for the pain to end.   
“Alice. Alice. Stripe!” Spot called, shaking her to get her to wake up. Another nightmare. They’d been frequent with her ever since the attack. It broke Spot’s heart that he couldn’t protect her from them.   
Finally, Stripe shot up, eyes wide, screaming and thrashing. “Hey. Hey, it’s me.” Spot soothed, trying to wrangle her as she tried to get away from him. Slowly, she focused on him, looking around the room as if just realizing where she was. “Spotty?” She whimpered, her voice small. “I’m right here.” Spot promised, pulling her close and kissing her forehead, rubbing her back as she cried.   
They fell asleep in that position, despite their determination to stay awake. 

The next morning, at the distribution centre, news reached Brooklyn of what had gone down in Manhattan the day before. Stripe couldn’t help the guilt she felt. They had been enjoying a nice fun day in the river while Manhattan was getting soaked. She looked over at Spot, who nodded at her, clearly sending a message.   
“Boys. ‘Hattan needs our help. We’s going there tonight as soon as we done selling. We’s gonna help finish this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was mostly a filler chapter, sorry! But, say hello to Stripe! Also, next chapter we finally meet the boys of Manhattan. Stay tuned, chapter 5 coming soon!!!


	5. 'Hattan

Papers were sold at record speed the day that the King of Brooklyn decreed that they would cross the bridge and help Manhattan with the strike. Everyone was excited, Stripe included. She had wanted to help them from the beginning.   
“Alright boys,” Spot announced to the group of Newsies, anxiously awaiting their departure to Manhattan. “Let’s get a move on!” He called, causing a massive cheer to erupt from the newsies. The sea of red shirts filed out of the door, Stripe and Spot taking up the rear of the line. Stripe had only been to Manhattan a handful of times, she wasn’t really sure what to expect.   
As they walked, she found herself deep in thought, not really paying attention to anything, when she was brought out of her daze by Spot swatting her arm. “Hm?” She responded, and Spot just heaved a sigh, knowing she didn’t pay attention to a word he said.   
“I said to keep your hair tucked in your cap, at least at first. They won’t be expecting a girl to be with us.” He explained, and Stripe nodded. It made sense that seeing a girl with Brooklyn might throw off the others. The walk continued, and Stripe was silent once again. “What’s on your mind, squirt?” Spot asked, using the nickname that only he was allowed to use for her. The girl simply shrugged.   
“This is my first time really meeting another borough. I’s just thinking about what will happen is all.” She explained, and Spot nodded, allowing her to slip back into thought. 

Time seemed to fly by, and before Stripe knew it, Brooklyn was entering the newsie rally. Every borough was there, and Spot had informed her that if Brooklyn wasn’t there, nobody would be. As the group of kids in red shirts entered the theatre, there were cheers from every other borough. Clearly Brooklyn’s presence meant something to everyone else. It was enough to make Stripe grin, but she fought it down in favour of keeping serious like her brothers.   
She glanced around the room, picking out the Manhattan boys easily due to their blue clothing. It was a bit harder to distinguish the other boroughs from each other, but Stripe was really only interested in watching Manhattan. It was clear there were all different types of personalities there, but they all seemed to fit together like one strange puzzle. There was a boy with glasses, and another boy with a slingshot sticking out of his pocket. Stripe spotted two of the boys that had visited them a few days ago, and decided that they were actual brothers.   
As she was observing, Spot noticed her watching, and decided he would introduce her to the boys of Manhattan. So, he marched over and grabbed her arm, leading her over to the boys in blue. “Where are you taking me?” Stripe complained, but Spot stayed silent, a smirk on his face. She then realized where he was taking her.   
“...but why would anyone want to eat a fish’s eyeball, Elmer?” The boy with the slingshot was saying as the pair from Brooklyn arrived into the conversation. Quickly, all attention was on Spot. That seemed to happen often around here, even more so than back home, Spot’s presence commanded respect.   
“Fellas, I want you to meet Brooklyn’s new kid. This is Stripe.” Spot introduced, and Stripe simply gave a nod, looking around at the boys. They all seemed stunned by Spot, frozen like statues, until one of them spoke up. “Nice to meet you Stripe, I’m JoJo, this is Albert, Specs, Finch, and Elmer.” He introduced, and once again, Stripe simply nodded. Just then, a taller boy with a cigar in his mouth walked over to the group.   
“What about me, Jo?” The boy teased, and then fixed his eyes on Stripe. “I’m Race.” He introduced himself, causing Stripe to once again nod. Race frowned, looking at the Brooklyn newsie, then he turned to Spot. “Whatsa matter? Don’t he talk?” He asked, and just then Stripe pulled her hat off, causing her hair to tumble onto her shoulders. “She talks just fine thank you.” The girl sassed, enjoying the look of shock and confusion that had spread to the boys faces.   
However, Race was quick to recover. “A girl? Looks ta me like you’ve gone soft, Spotty.” Race quipped, smirking. That very same smirk was wiped from his face when Stripe grabbed his collar and pulled him down so he was face to face with her.   
“Howsa bout you don’t judge by appearance, hm? I’s knocked out fellas much bigger than you with one punch. You want to find out how hard I can hit?” She growled, causing Race to swallow hard. Behind him, his friends couldn’t help but laugh.   
“C’mon Racer, we’s didn’t think you was dumb enough to mess with anyone from Brooklyn.” Albert snickered as Stripe released Race’s collar and walked away, Spot following.   
The rally soon began, but Race couldn’t seem to focus, his gaze kept drifting to the girl dressed in red. He drank in her appearance, her sandy brown hair and the many freckles standing out sharply in contrast to her pale skin. Her deep blue eyes were intense and focused, yet gentle and beautiful. She was very clearly strong, yet there was something fragile hidden within her. The way she moved and talked with the rest of Brooklyn, it was clear she was one of them.   
The arrival of Jack had the theatre buzzing with excitement, but his speech quickly changed the mood. Race felt his heart drop when he heard Jack trying to convince the newsies to disband the union, how could Jack betray them like this? After everything they worked for? The whole place erupted into chaos, but Race’s eye was drawn to where Jack was. Out of nowhere, Spot lashed out and pushed Jack. It was clear that the King of Brooklyn wanted to go after Jack even more, but Stripe put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, and he visibly calmed down.   
Stripe lead Spot toward the door, and corralled the other boys from her borough as well. As they walked out the door, Stripe took one last look back at Manhattan, and locked eyes with Race. His bright blue eyes were pleading with her, he knew that if Brooklyn left, all hope of ever winning the strike was gone. The girl simply shook her head at him, and the toughest borough in Manhattan walked away from the newsboy union.

 

Stripe stopped the boys as soon as the theatre was out of view. “Boys, go in that restaurant there and get some water. Make sure to ask if it’s free first. Sit down at some tables and wait. I want to talk to Spot.” She commanded, and the boys did as they were told, grumbling angrily about what had just gone down.   
“This whole thing was shit!” Spot began yelling as soon as the boys were safely inside the restaurant with the name Jacobi’s on the outside. “I told you, Alicia-Marie! I told you we shouldn’t come to ‘Hattan! But you insisted, and I was dumb enough to listen to a -” “A what, Spot? Hm? A girl?” Stripe interrupted. “Yeah, go ahead and finish that sentence, see how much thinner the ice you’re on can go before you break it.” She growled at him, fire in her eyes. He had the good sense to back down.   
“Was I supposed to know Manhattan’s leader was going to betray everyone? Did you see the looks on them kids faces? They didn’t know either.” She lectured, making Spot feel like a moron for even being angry.   
“You’s right, Squirt.” He admitted bashfully, and Stripe nodded, feeling accomplished in yet another victory over Spot.   
The two turned to enter the restaurant, when they heard footsteps approaching. They turned to see the boy with the cigar from earlier, running to catch up with them. “Stripe!” Race called, stopping in front of the Brooklyn newsies. “I need to talk to ya. Please.” He begged. Manhattan couldn’t let Brooklyn go, without them there was no hope of victory. Race knew Spot would be to stubborn to listen, but he saw what happened earlier when Stripe stopped Spot from attacking Jack. Spot listened to the girl. Race just had to convince her to stay.   
“Alright, but make it quick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh! Our Manhattan Boys are finally here! Sorry this chapter is so short, next one will be longer I promise!


	6. Please...

Race pulled Stripe into an alleyway, making sure Spot had gone into the restaurant. This was important. He had to get the girl to listen, to reason with Spot so that they would stay in Manhattan and help with the strike. It was hopeless to continue if they lost Brooklyn.  
“You gots to stay!” Race blurted right off the bat. She had said to make it quick after all. Stripe couldn’t help but crack a smile at him, and Race found himself examining her face even more. She was beautiful, he realized. Her face was adorably round, her nose small, yet perfect for her face. Her eyes were a deep deep blue, with flecks of bronze in them. Race felt like he could get lost in them for days. He couldn’t help but notice the red tinge her face had. A sunburn, most likely from selling all day in the sun, or playing in the River like Brooklyn was known to do. Race couldn’t get the thought of her playing in the water out of his head. He had never felt like this about anyone before, let alone a newsie from Brooklyn. Besides, from the looks of it, she was Spot’s girl.  
“Hello?” Race was pulled out of his trance, realizing Stripe had been talking to him. “Hm?” He muttered, blinking a couple times to bring him out into the real world. He was expecting the girl to give up on the conversation and not listen to what he had to say. Instead, she gave him a small smile and began her statement over again.   
“I said, we can’t stay after what just happened, Race. Spot didn’t want to come in the first place, but I managed to convince him. After what Jack just pulled, there’s no way Spot will want anything to do with Manhattan for a while, let alone help out with this strike.” She said slowly, trying to get her point across. However, Race could hear the hesitation in her voice. She wanted to stay, she just didn’t seem to know the power she had over Spot. He knew he could convince her to stay, and he knew Spot would listen to her. The Manhattan boy refused to give up hope.   
“Spot listens to you, Stripe. I’s seen it myself back at the rally. He wanted to soak Jack, but you stopped him. I’s known Spot for a while, and I’s never seen anyone have that much control over him. No other newsie will be able to get him to stay, and without you’s guys, we have no chance of winning this strike. Please.” Race tried again, his bright blue eyes hiding much anxiety and worry. It was clear to Stripe how much this strike meant to him. The girl sighed, running a hand through her light brown hair. She was deep in thought, caught between knowing Spot was mad at her, and wanting to help Manhattan. Stripe knew Manhattan needed them, and they needed them bad. It felt wrong to just turn her back on them, but she had to be loyal to Brooklyn and what Spot commanded.   
“I can’t. We can’t stay.” She decided, turning away from Race, who stood there defeated, not knowing what to do next. This had been their only hope to get Crutchie out of the refuge, their only chance to be living some sort of life instead of being starving on the street.   
“Racer!” A voice called from the street. It almost sounded like Jack, but that couldn’t be right. Jack was gone, he had betrayed them. Race rounded the corner to find none other than his former leader, and he was surely surprised to see him. Surprised, but not happy.   
“Oh, so the traitor is back eh? What, Pulitzer didn’t give you’se enough money the first time you’se betrayed us?” Race snapped, watching Jack’s eyes fill with hurt at his words. Good. He thought to himself. Let him know what it felt like to us when he turned his back on us.  
“Racer I know-” Jack started, but Race cut him off. “No, you’se don’t get to make excuses, and you’se certainly don’t get to use my nickname. Only my brothers can call me that. You ain’t one of ‘em anymore.” The boy sneered, angrily lighting his cigar. He was unbelievably mad. How could Jack do what he did to them? They were supposed to be a family. He was hurt beyond belief. He wasn’t sure if he could ever forgive Jack.   
“Race...I know I messed up. But Kath and I know how to win, we know how to take down Pulitzer. We need your help, Race.” Jack pleaded, looking at the boy smoking a cigar. When Race didn’t react, Jack did what he did best. He kept talking,   
“Don’t do it for me. Do it for the fellas.” Jack pleaded, and finally Race nodded. “Alright. For the fellas.” He muttered, sticking his cigar in his mouth as he and Jack left the alley to find the other guys and to get the plan worked out.   
One thing Race knew for sure was that they would need Brooklyn. He had no idea how they would get the newsies in red on board, but he had other things to worry about first.

Back in the restaurant, Stripe found Spot at a table and sat down, sighing. She caught Spot’s gaze, and could see he was giving her a questioning look. She shook her head, not saying anything, but it was enough for Spot to understand what she meant. The conversation had been pointless and nothing had come of it.   
“I’se agreed to stay here for a while so the fellas can cool off, physically and mentally, before we’se walk back to Brooklyn.” Spot told his sister as she grabbed some water from the man that seemed to own the place. The girl nodded, downing the water. Even though it was getting dark out, it was still another unbearably hot day.   
Brooklyn stayed in Jacobi’s for a couple of hours, telling jokes, singing songs and just altogether being a family. Stripe was sitting next to Smalls, with one of the little boys, Tuck, in her lap when suddenly the door burst open, interrupting Murphy in the middle of his story. All of Brooklyn turned to look, surprised to see Jack Kelly himself.   
“Stay here boys.” Spot grumbled, getting up to deal with the King of Manhattan. The boy in red lead Jack outside so they didn’t have an audience for their conversation. Spot’s newsies did as they were told, mumbling amongst themselves, legs bouncing nervously. They knew Spot could handle himself, they were just worried about Spot losing his temper and the bulls finding him.   
Finally, after a few agonizingly silent minutes, Spot came back in. “Get up boys. We gots a strike to win.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know its been a month since I posted (oops), and I know I promised a long chapter (double oops) but I mean like...this is better than nothing right? Hopefully I'll start posting regularly again! Keep an eye out for more chapters.


	7. Anywhere But There

Stripe and the boys had no idea what Jack had said to Spot to get him to change his mind, but they didn’t care too much. Quickly, they all stood from their seats, following the two kings out the door. Excited chatter spread throughout the group of newsies, wondering what they were going to do and how they were going to win the strike. Upon their arrival, they were all shocked to see that they were at Pulitzer’s house.   
Stripe made her way to the front of the crowd to stand next to Spot.   
“What in hell is we doin’ here, Spotty?” She asked, looking over at the boy. Spot simply shrugged, looking back at his sister. “We’se is helpin our brothers.” He answered plainly, and Stripe nodded. She had shoved her hair back into her cap, knowing not many of the newsies from other boroughs knew she was a girl.   
Out of nowhere, the door opened, and standing right there was none other than Race. Stripe watched as the other newsies filed in as she hung back. Quickly, it was just her and Race.   
“So, you boys managed to get Spot to stay?” She asked with a smile that turned into a smirk when Race startled and turned around to see Stripe there. Quickly, his demeanor changed. He fixed his hat and pulled the cigar out of his mouth. These were actions that didn’t go unnoticed by Stripe. Was he attracted to her? Not that she would have minded all that much if he was.   
“Stripe! Uh..hey..yeah Jack came back with a plan and managed to get the others in on it. I’se not sure what he said to Spot, but it worked.” He said with a shrug, not taking his eyes off of Stripe. She looked so different with her hair tucked into her cap, yet just as beautiful. Without her hair, he could see more of the freckles that dotted her pale skin, and he could more clearly see the sunburn she had on her face. He admired her eyes, her thick and long eyelashes that framed them so well. It seemed to him like every part of her was perfect. Woah, he thought to himself, I’se cannot be falling for a girl from Brooklyn. Plus she’s Spot’s girl. If he could see my brain right now, I’d be dead! He scolded himself, breaking out of his trance when he realized Stripe was talking.   
“....didn’t think anything could convince Spot to stay. When he gets angry, it usually sticks for a few days. He was so angry he called me by my full name.” She said with a scoff, reminding herself to punch Spot later for that one. The girl looked over at Race and blushed when she realized he was looking right at her. He hadn’t seemed to take his eyes off her the whole conversation. Not that she was complaining, Race was an attractive boy. He had eyes so blue that they were practically glowing, not to mention the curly blonde hair that he hid under his cap. Plus she couldn’t deny she thought he looked so attractive when he smoked cigars, which was all the time for Race.   
The boy simply nodded, raising an eyebrow at Stripe “So how did you’se even get into Brooklyn? Everyone knows they’se don’t let girls in.” He questioned. Stripe smirked, almost glad that he asked.   
“I’se told you earlier. I’se knocked out fellas with just one punch before. I’se was homeless, and Spotty became my only friend. I’se needed money, so every day I bugged him about being a newsie, but he always said no. They couldn’t take a girl. One morning, Spotty happened to see me knock a fella out with one hit. That was they day he finally took me to the lodge.” She said with a shrug, not wanting to go into details about her backstory and her shitty older brother. Taking a look at Race, she couldn’t help but to let out a laugh, the poor boy looked horrified.  
“I had good reason to knock him out!” Stripe defended herself, still laughing, and Race relaxed a little. Convinced that Stripe wouldn’t knock him out for no reason, he motioned to the door.   
“We should probably get in there.” He said, and Stripe nodded in response, although she was enjoying the time with Race. 

The pair headed into the basement, looking down at the chaos beneath them. Newsies were everywhere, from every different borough, and in the middle of it all was a printing press. It was madness as everyone scrambled to get everything ready, grabbing papers and ink and whatever else. At one point, someone shouted “Smalls!”, causing to boys to answer, one from Brooklyn and one from Manhattan. Stripe watched with a laugh as the two bonded over having the same nickname. Stripe nodded to Race and headed down into the chaos to find Spot so he could put her to work.   
“What do you need me to do, Spotty?” She asked as she reached her leader, who was supervising some of the other newsies. Spot looked over at her, shaking his head.   
“I don’t want you’se working too hard, Squirt. You’se still have bruised ribs, and you gots to be careful on that ankle of yours.” He said protectively, causing Stripe to groan.   
“You can’t be serious!” The girl whined, pouting at Spot. She wanted to be helpful, she wanted to be part of the revolution. “I know you’se need the help,” She continued, not willing to give up all that easy. “And you know I’se is one of your best workers-”  
“Alright!” Spot interrupted, causing Stripe to grin, knowing she had won the argument. “You can tie up the papes into bundles.” He decided, directing her over to where she needed to be. As luck would have it, Race was there, cigar sticking out of his mouth as usual, although it wasn’t lit.   
“Can’t you keep that in your pocket?” Stripe asked as she got to work, laughing as Race was surprised to see her. After a moment, the boy shrugged.   
“I could. I just like to have it in my mouth.” He decided, and Stripe nodded.   
“Seems fair.” She agreed, and the two got to work. Every so often, Stripe would wince in pain and have to stop what she was doing for a few seconds before going back to what she was doing. The first couple times, Race stayed quiet about it. She was a tough girl and it wasn’t likely she was going to want to talk about whatever was wrong. However, it kept happening, and Race couldn’t hide his concern.   
“Are you okay, Stripe?” He asked out of the blue, catching Stripe by surprise. She didn’t think anyone was noticing when she was in pain.   
“It’s just my ribs healing. I was soaked really bad a couple weeks ago, I’se is still healing.” She said nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal.   
“You’se got soaked?!” Race asked in surprise, his eyes wide. He couldn’t believe anyone would soak a girl, let alone Stripe. She was tough, how the heck did anyone soak her? Much to his surprise, the girl just nodded, acting as if stuff like that happened every day.   
“Yeah. Somethin like eight guys was hired to soak me. Luckily I has great brothers that heard me scream and saved me.” She answered, not looking up from her work. She didn’t feel that it was necessary to bore Race with all the details of what happened, figuring she explained it pretty well. However, that was not how Race felt. He was more confused than ever, and he was almost worried. Did this girl have a shady past he needed to know about? He had so many questions.   
“You’se gonna explain that later.” He warned her, pointing a finger at him. Without looking up, Stripe muttered “If you want to keep that finger, you’re going to move it.” Needless to say, Race moved his finger. 

The time went by fast, the newsies were working harder than they ever had before. Quicker than any of them thought possible, they had printed and tied all the papers together. It was time to distribute them, but before the newsies were sent to the streets, Jack and Spot got up on a table to address the crowd.   
“Alright listen up,” Jack started. “We need to get these papes to every working kid in the city that we can. That means we needs all of you to spread out. But, we don’t want any newsies wandering the streets alone.” He said, motioning to himself and Spot. Stripe couldn’t help but feel like that was partially because of her.   
“So,” Spot picked up the speech where Jack had left off. “I want you’se to pair up.” Before Stripe knew what was happening, there was an arm around her shoulder. She could see the cigar without even having to turn her head. Race had chosen her as his partner. Great… She thought to herself.   
Jack and Spot began to yell out everyone’s location assignments, and as each newsie pair got their location, they ran off. Stripe could have fainted right on the spot when she heard Jack yell “Race and his partner, Queens!”   
The girl looked to Spot with panic in her eyes, and she could see her leader about to protest, knowing why she couldn’t go there, but Race was already dragging her away, and Jack was shouting the next assignment. She felt like her throat was closing in on itself, and that the world was suddenly spinning very quickly. She couldn’t go back to Queens, anywhere but Queens. Numbly, she let Race drag her to the streets, back to the place that haunted her nightmares, back to the place she grew up. Before she knew it, Race was stopping. Coming out of her trance, she looked around, recognizing her surroundings.   
Stripe looked about as awful as she felt, causing Race to worry. Had he done something wrong? Had he lead her here too fast and bothered her injuries?   
“Stripe...what is it?” Race asked, sounding more sincere than Stripe had ever heard him sound. The girl swallowed heavily and took a shaky breath, looking up at Race.   
“It’s nothing, Race.” She snapped. “Let’s just get these papes given out.” She muttered, and with that, untied her papers and began giving them to every kid she saw heading to work. Unfortunately for her, Race was not ready to give up on figuring out what was wrong with her. After a few minutes of work, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an alley.   
“Somethin is botherin you. Stripe. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what it is.” He stated, looking at her with pity and sympathy in his eyes. He was trying to show Stripe that she could let her walls down around him, that she didn’t constantly have to be so tough. Somehow, it was working. Stripe sighed and sat down on a crate, motioning for Race to do the same.   
“Remember when I told you I soaked a fella and knocked him out? Well that fella was my brother, Miller.” She started, looking at the ground. “Miller hated me growing up, and when Ma and Pa died, he was old enough that he became my legal guardian. He wasn’t shy about showing me how he felt about me.” The girl muttered, chewing on her lip nervously. She didn’t like to talk about Miller. “After a few months, I ran away to Brooklyn, that’s when Spot found me. The day I knocked Miller out, he came to take me home, to take me here. Queens. This is where I’m from, where I grew up with Miller. This is where he hurt me, where I lost my parents. I ran away for a reason.” She whispered, now playing with her own hands to try and distract her mind. Race was shocked at everything he was telling her. He didn’t understand how someone could be so horrible to their own family. He reached up and took her hand, squeezing it for comfort.   
Shakily, Stripe continued. “When I was soaked a few weeks ago, that was Miller’s doing. He got his goon friends to soak me. They is from here too. If any of them find out I’m back in Queens, I’m dead.” She finished, finally looking over at Race. The boy had no idea how to react, so he just reached over and pulled her into a hug. Stripe melted against the boy, burying her face into his shoulder.   
“I won’t let anything happen to you.” Race whispered, holding her tight. It was a promise he intended to keep, no matter what. He was starting to feel things for this girl, he knew he would protect her. Against his shoulder, she nodded.   
“Okay…” She whispered. After a few seconds, they pulled apart and stood. “We should get working.” Race said with a chuckle, and Stripe nodded in agreement. The boy was growing on her, she was beginning to like him very much.   
The two headed out to the street and worked for a few hours without a hitch. They would occasionally pause to tease the other, or make a snide comment, but they worked well together. Well, until Stripe looked over at Race and saw him flirting with a girl.   
“...and I promise I will be there too.” He was saying, playing with a lock of the girl’s hair, giving her bedroom eyes. “I’ll be sure to look for you, sweetheart.” The boy said with a wink, causing the girl to giggle as she headed away. Stripe couldn’t help but feel hurt. Had he tricked her to get her to tell him her secrets? Or had she simply tricked herself into thinking he liked her? Either way, the girl was pissed. She refused to talk to Race the rest of the night, ignoring him when he tried to talk to her, and glaring when he wasn’t looking.   
This change in character didn’t go unnoticed by Race. He had no idea what he had done wrong, he wasn’t really flirting with the girl, he was just trying to get as many working kids to strike as he could. As the night dragged on, they ran out of papers.   
“We should head back to Newsies Square to see if any of the other fellas are done.” Race decided, and Stripe just silently pushed past him, walking in the direction of Manhattan. 

This is going to be a long walk… Race thought to himself as he headed after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a decently long chapter! And we already have a fight with our "couple". Wow look at me go, such a good author. Anyway, chapter eight should be up soon! Thanks for reading.


	8. You've Got to be Kidding

Stripe was not in the mood to talk to Race, and she made sure that she had made that very clear. The girl stomped ahead of Race the whole walk back to Manhattan. To say she was angry was an understatement. She had opened up to this boy, let her walls down. She didn’t do that with just anyone. Any time Race got close, she sped up, leaving the increasingly frustrated boy behind. Race had never meant to upset her, and the fact that she wasn’t even letting him speak was driving him crazy.   
Eventually, the pair made it back to newsies square, where there were a few pairs of newsies who had also run out of papers to give out. There were still a few hours until morning, and most of the Manhattan boys had gone back to their lodge to get a few hours of sleep. This left the other newsies without some place to stay. Some kids could be seen in a nearby alley, trying to stay safe and get enough peace of mind to be able to sleep.   
Stripe looked around, realizing she was the only Brooklyn kid there. As she realized she’d have to spend the night on the street, she felt the familiar presence of anxiety settle around her. She knew she’d have a nightmare, she knew she’d wake up screaming. What if her screaming attracted the bulls? What if she and the other kids were locked up in the refuge because she was a scared little baby? Stripe vision began to blur with tears as her breathing became unsteady. Just as it looked like she was going to spiral into a full on panic attack, she felt a hand on her shoulder.   
“Stripe, you should come back to the lodge with me. I can sleeps on the floor and you can have the bed.” Race said softly. After what she told him earlier, he knew she might not be okay with sleeping on the streets again. He was glad she had opened up. He wanted to help her in any way he could. As soon as Stripe realized who it was, she jerked away.   
“I ain’t going anywhere with you, Race.” She managed to get out, making sure he couldn’t see that she was almost crying. Race knew the lodge would be safe for her, and that she would be more comfortable there.   
“Stripe, I really thin-” “NO, RACE! LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!” Stripe interrupted, running off into a nearby alley. Race had no idea how to react. He just stood there stunned for a while before turning away and heading back to the lodge. How couldn’t Stripe see that he was looking out for her? 

Too scared of what might happen if she slept, Stripe remained awake the whole night, keeping watch over the kids that were sleeping. As night began to turn to day, kids from all over the city began showing up. Spot eventually returned, and Stripe went to go stand with him. She needed to be around him after the night she’d had.   
Knowing it would have been hard for her to go back to Queens, Spot greeted her by immediately pulling her into a hug, which she happily welcomed. She buried her face into Spot’s shoulder, trying not to start crying.   
“I tried to tell Jack you couldn’t go to Queens. He wasn’t listening. I’m sorry Squirt.” He apologized, holding her close. Stripe nodded, knowing Spot was telling the truth.   
The rest of the morning, Stripe stayed by Spot’s side, greeting the working kids who were showing up and giving jobs to the newsies. The morning was going well, until Stripe heard a voice behind her.   
“Mornin’, Stripe.” Race said cheerily, a smug smile on his face as the girl slowly turned around. He popped his cigar into his mouth, the expression not leaving his face.   
“What do you want, Race?” She sassed, turning back to what she was doing. She didn’t want to have to talk to Race ever again, she considered his actions unforgivable. She didn’t want to hear him out, or hear his voice ever again.   
“Oh I just wanted to say hi.” He chuckled, looking at the back of her head. He had decided he would do with her what he did best. Annoy. It always worked when Albert was fed up with him. Although, it didn’t seem to be working on Stripe. She gave a huff and walked away, heading straight for Spot. ‘Right..’ Race thought as he watched the two ‘She’s his girl…’ He thought sadly as he decided to take over what Alice had been doing, since she decided to just walk away. Poor boy had no idea how wrong he was about Spot and Stripe.  
Finally, working hours had started, only no kids were working. They were all in newsies square, or holding other strikes in other locations across the city. Just to make sure they were as inconvenient as possible.   
“Good luck.” Stripe was saying to Spot, giving him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. The king of Brooklyn laughed and punched her arm in a brotherly way before giving her and the boys a nod as he, Jack and Davey headed up to talk to Pulitzer himself. Race stood further back, watching the three boys head into the building. Stripe turned to look through the crowd to find Murphy or Robin, but instead made eye contact with Race. With a groan, she looked away and headed into the crowd to get away, but she knew he would follow.   
She weaved through the crowd, trying to lose the boy she assumed was hot on her trail. She finally found a place to sit deep enough in the crowd that Race wouldn’t find her. At least, that was what she thought. Just as she was comfortable, Race himself popped through the crowd, some smoke from his cigar leaving his mouth. His eyes landed on Stripe and his face practically lit up.   
“Stripe!” He said in surprise, hopping up to sit with her. She groaned internally, but stayed silent as it became clear he wasn’t going to be leaving for a while. She could smell him smoking his cigar, seemingly content in the silence between them. Suddenly, there was a cigar being held in front of her.   
“Want some?” Race asked Stripe, smirking. Just as she was about to shake her head no, some boys that she recognized as Race’s friends decided to join them.   
“Woah, Racer is sharing his cigar?” Albert asked, smirking. “Race doesn’t share his cigars with just anyone, Stripe. It means he likes you.” The redhead continued, the other boys laughing at his statement. Instead of denying the statement, Race simply went red in the face and hit Albert with his hat. Stripe couldn’t help that her heart skipped a beat when he didn’t deny it. Did he actually like her?  
“C’mon, Albert.” Another boy (Elmer, if Stripe remembered right) spoke up. “It’s a classic Race move, he does it with all the ladies to impress them.” The other boys murmured in agreement, and Stripe deflated again. ‘Nevermind,’ She thought to herself ‘I knew it was too good to be true.’ She shook the thought out of her head and allowed herself to joke around with the other Manhattan newsies, simply ignoring Race because she was still angry.   
At a point during their conversation, Race stopped and looked from Albert to Stripe. They looked really alike. Like, a lot. “Hey guys, does Albert and Stripe look the same?” He asked, still looking at the both of them. Everyone paused in their conversation to look at the two, the redheads staring at everyone with confused looks on their faces.   
“I see what it is.” Albert started, the tone of a joke on his voice. “You is racist to gingers.” He teased, and everyone laughed as Race once again got red in the face. Before the conversation could go any further, Stripe caught a glimpse of Spot through the crowd.   
“They’re back!” She announced, taking off to get to Spot. She quickly reached him, looking nervous.   
“Did we win?” She asked as she greeted him with a hug, looking incredibly concerned. Spot simply shrugged and motioned to where Jack was climbing to announce what had happened. At the good news, the crowd exploded into cheers and shouts of victory. Shortly after, the crowd had thinned out until only Newsies were left in it. Stripe and the other boys were getting set to leave for Brooklyn when Spot gathered Brooklyn and Manhattan together. Confused, the boys crowded around.   
“Congratulations on a war well fought, boys. We got em good.” Spot started, getting a small round of applause from the group of kids. The leader put his hands up, effectively stopping the noise and drawing all focus back to him. “However,” Spot continued, “I don’t think the bulls and high-ups in ‘hattan are gonna be too happy with our brothers after this. I don’t wanna leave them unprotected.”   
At these words, there were murmurs of confusion among the group. Was Brooklyn staying? What was going on?   
“So, I’m leaving some of my toughest fellas here in ‘Hattan for a few weeks until everything is settled down.” Spot decreed, much to the shock of every newsie listening. Before the crowd could start protesting, Spot began listing the newsies that would be staying in Manhattan.   
“Fox, Bear, Gizmo, Jet and Stripe. You’se five is gonna stay in ‘Hattan.” The king of Brooklyn commanded. Stripe was taken aback at this news. Spot was making her stay in Manhattan? Making her stay with Race? As she was trying to process this information, she heard the all too familiar voice of Racetrack Higgins behind her.  
“Looks like we is gonna be together for a while.” The boy sneered, and before Stripe could stop herself, she exploded. “NON POSSO RESTARE QUI, SEAN!” She yelled at Spot, not realizing she was speaking Italian until the words were already out.   
Growing up, Stripe’s only friend came from a very italian family, who only spoke italian around the house. They had taught her the language until she was fluent in it. When she found out that Spot was fluent in Italian as well, the pair began speaking in it constantly with each other, mostly while they were alone.   
Spot was surprised by his sister’s outburst and stepped down from where he was standing, walking to Stripe. “Perché?” Spot replied, eerily calm considering Stripe had just yelled at him and called him by his real name. The other newsies watched on, fascinated yet afraid.   
“Il ragazzo con il sigaro mi fa impazzire…” The girl admitted, looking down at her shoes. She knew she couldn’t tell Spot everything, not there, not like that. At these words, Spot chuckled to himself. “Lo fa a tutti noi. Lo ignori.” He said and walked away, leaving Stripe standing there, dumbfounded. Fifteen minutes later, Stripe found herself saying goodbye to most of her brothers as they left to go home, while she was stuck behind.   
“You’ve got to be kidding…” She muttered to herself as she turned and saw Race grinning at her. This was gonna be a long few weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAA I know it's been forever since I've posted! I'm sorry! Also I know some people say Race is also Italian, but I just don't see it, so for the sake of this story, Race does not speak/is not Italian. The Italian is from google translate, so I hope it's not too terrible!


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